I give platelets every two weeks. This week I asked the screening nurse what impact will my trip to India have on my ability to donate blood. Here is the story.
Vaccinations
I will need to wait three months after I have had a vaccination before I can give blood again.
Travel to India
India is a place where you can potentially catch malaria. It takes up to a year for malaria symptoms to show up once you are infected. I will need to wait for 1 year before I can give platelets again.
After six months I can donate source plasma. This is different from the normal plasma donation. They use source plasma to produce other products and do not give it directly to a patient.
The result
If I plan to go to India once a year to study with Nancy Gilgoff I will be unable to donate platelets, plasma or whole blood. I will be able to donate source plasma for about six months of the year, depending on how often I will need vaccinations. If I need vaccinations each year then I will only be able to donate source plasma for three months or so, depending on when the vaccinations are required to be taken prior to the trip.
That’s too bad.
